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Patented Dot.- 4, |898. J. W. PEARSGN.

TRAWL NET.

(Appliaeion medpr. 4, 189s.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

"lo Model.)

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' improvements applied thereto. l

edge view of the spreader-board and sphere,

@Nitrat Arrivi* rares.

JAMES W. PEARSON, LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO VILLIAM JOHNWOOD, OF SAME PLACE.

TRAWL-NET- r SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,931,dated October 4, 1898.

Application led April 4, 1898. Serial No. 676,392. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES WILLIAM PEAR- SON, minister of thePresbyterian church of England, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain,residing at London, England, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in or Relating to 'Brawl-Nets, of which the following is aspeciiication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is an inside view, and Fig. 2 a plan showing one wing ofa trawl-net having my Fig. 3 is an and Fig. is a section on the line .frFig. 3 showing the corrugations in the spreaderboard. Fig; 5 is asimilar View to Fig. l, illustrating another form or modification of myinvention. Fig. G is a section on the line x Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is an edgeview, partly in section; and Fig. 8 is a section on the line 002002,Fig. 7, illustrating a further modification of my said invention.

My invention relates to trawl-nets, and is chiefly designed to providemore efficient means than have heretofore been employed for keeping thenet extended to its full capacity without the use of the usualhorizontal beam, and to provide for maintaining the spreader-boards orupright beams used in place thereof in an upright or nearly uprightposition in the water notwithstanding stoppages or slowing down of thevessel by which the net is being dragged. My improved net can thereforebe advantageously used both with sailing vessels and with steamers.

An important feature of my said invention is the employment ofself-righting spreaderboards or upright beams-that is to say,spreader-boards or upright beams attached to the sides or wings of thenet and mounted upon balancing spheres or other suitably weighted orballasted rounded bodies in such a manner that should they be pulled orpushed over in any direction they will at once resume their upright ornearly upright position or can be very easily brought back to thisposition by a pull upon the towing chains or warps without the necessityfor hauling in the net. By these means also the gear can travel veryeasily over the sea-bottom, so that the net will do its work with lessnoise and friction than heretofore, and the mouth of the net will bekept open even when stationary in the water, and will therefore becapable of capturing a larger quantity of fish than the nets heretoforeused.

Another feature of my said invention is the provision of what I termwing-spreaders, which are secured in the wings of the trawlnet andwhich, by intercepting or offering re- 6o sistance to the iiow of theIwater through the net at the wings, cause the automatic eXtension ofthe net by the action of the water. A larger net can therefore be usedthan is practicable with the ordinary horizontal beamtrawl or with theotter-board trawl.

My said invention also comprises other improvements hereinafter setforth.

The forward end of each wing of the netA is attached either to aspreader-board B or to 7o a vertical beam B'. Each of the saidspreaderboards or upright beams is mounted on a hollow balancing-sphereO, which is made of sheet-iron or other suitable material, preferablyincased with softwood or other protecting material, and is ballasted bybeing partly lled with lead or other heavy material secured in positiontherein, so that the center of gravity of the whole will be below thecenter of the sphere, and when the said sphere is 8o placed on a flatsurface the spreader-board or beam will assume an upright or nearlyupright position. If the said board or beam be made of Wood, itsbuoyancy will promote this self-righting action when the net is immersed8 5 in water.

Each of the spheresy O is provided on its under sidewith a wearing-shoeC', of steel orl other suitable material, which is secured in positionby screws C2 or other suitable fasten- 9ov resistance to being drawnthrough the water. Ico

The part of the boardB forward of its center may advantageously beprovided with vertical grooves or corrugations B2 on its inner side, asmore clearly shown in Fig. 4, so as to assist in maintaining the saidboard at the desired angle or sheer as it is moved relatively to thewater and so that when the water passing up the corrugations arrives atthe smooth or uncorrugated part above them it will slip over the top ofthe board. The spheres C serve to maintain the said boards or beams inthe desired position in the water whether the net is being dragged alongor is stationary. Therefore the mouth of the net will be kept open evenwhen stationary in the Water, and the net will consequently be capableof capturing a larger quantity of fish than the nets heretofore used.Moreover, my spheres and spreader-boards or beams are much lighter thanthe otter-boards hitherto employed and the net will do its work withless noise and friction than those provided with otter-boards.

The head-line D of the net is preferably secured to an eye E at theupper part of the spreader-board B or beam B'. It may, however, besecured to the said board or beam at a lower point. The ground-rope F issecured to an eye G on the balancing-sphere C. The wing-line, if such beemployed, is also attached to the board B or beam B.

The tow ropes or warps I-I are attached to two sets of chains J Jthrough a ringJ2, the chains J in the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 beingeach attached to an eyebolt J3, secured in one or other of a series ofholes K in plates K, attached to the spreader-board B, and the chains Jto eyes L on the spheres G. By shifting the eyebolts J from one toanother of the holes K', I am enabled to adjust the amount of sheer orinclination of the spreader-boards B or beams B and also to vary theslip of the water over the top thereof, the latter result being moreespecially useful when the head-line D is attached to the spreader-boardat a point below the top thereof, as it prevents the flow of the waterfrom the said board onto the top of the net.

lVhen I use upright beams B', as shown in Figs. 5 and G, I secure theeyebolts J3 in holes M in a transverse bar M, which is adjustablevertically on the beam I3 and is adapted to be secured in position bymeans of a bolt M2, passing through one or other of a series of holes inthe beam B'.

' In the arrangement shown in Fig. 5 in each wing of the net A, at theend thereof next to the beam B', is sewed or otherwise secured awing-spreader N, consisting of a triangular or other suitably-shapedpiece of sail-cloth, canvas, or other suitable material. Thiswingspreader and the forward end of the wingl of the net are clamped tothe beam B by means of a metal bar N and bolts N2 and to the spheres Cbymeans of flanges C3. The

ward and the net distended or inflated as it is dragged along in thewater.

In the case of large nets wing-spreaders N can be employed incombination with spreader-boards B, such as that shown in Fig. 1.

When the net is in motion and the ballasted spheres C, with thespreader-boards B or upright beams B', are being pulled through thewater, the water acts upon the same and upon the wing-spreaders N (whensuch are employed) in such a manner as to keep the net extended to itsutmost capacity, and the whole gear moves on the smooth round surfacesof the said spheres, thus reducing the noise and friction to a minimum.The maintenance of the spreader-boards or upright beams always in anupright or nearly upright position elhciently obviates the liability tofouling or entanglement of the trawl-gear.

The aforesaid upright beams are to be used as an alternative for thespreader-boards, and in a rough sea are very advantageous for castingand raising the net.

The spreader-boards or upright beams in my improved gear will rightthemselves should they happen to be pushed or pulled over in anydirection. Taste of time and labor in hauling in the net for the purposeof righting the spreader-boards is therefore entirely avoided by myinvention.

It is evident that I can, if desired, use other suitably weighted orballasted rounded bodies in place of the spheres for effecting therighting of the spreader-boards or upright beams without the necessityfor hauling in the net and to facilitate the travel of the gear over thesea-bottom.

I sometimes use, in combination with the spreader -boards or uprightbeams, springbrackets,whereby the pull of the towing ropes or warps ismore equally distributed over the whole of the board. Thesespring-brackets are shown in Figs. 7 and S. They are attached to thespreader-boards B or to the upright beams and to the balancing-spheres,as shown, (for the attachment of the towing ropes or warps,) and servein place of the ordinary slings or metal brackets of the otterboards.Each bracket consists of two rods a or a', that take the place of thechains .I or .I and are coupled at one end to an eyebolt J4, the shankof which extends through a hole in the board B or sphere C and isprovided with a volute or spiral spring b. The outer end of each rod aor a is coupled to the towing chain or Warp, so that the said bracketsare not rigid, but are free to move through a small angle. The pull orstress rst passes through the spring-brackets and then through thespreader-boards or upright beams or the spheres to the net, and by meansof the various attachments is distributed equally over the whole net.

What I claim isl. The combination with a trawl-net of spreader-beams, orspreader-boards, attached IOO IIO

to the wings of the net, a ballasted body on which said beams or boardsare mounted and wing-spreaders secured to the sides of the net,substantially as described.

2. The combination with a trawl-net of spreader-boards attached to itssides, or wings, and having longitudinal grooves, or corrugations, inthe forward part of their operative surface, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a trawl-net of spreader-boards attached to thesides, or

wings, and provided with longitudinal grooves, or corrugations, in theforward part of their operative surface, and a ballasted body upon whichsaid boards are mounted, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a trawl-net of spreader boards attached to thesides, or wings, of the net and provided with longitudinal grooves inthe forward part of their operative surface, and a ballasted, spherical,or rounded body upon which said boards are mounted in a substantiallyvertical position, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a trawl-net of spreader boards secured to thesides, or wings, and provided with longitudinal grooves or corrugationsin the forward part of their operative surface, a ballasted spher icalor rounded body on which said boards are mounted in a substantiallyvertical position, and wing-spreaders secured to the sides of the net,substantially as described.

Y6. The combination with a trawl-net of spreader boards attached to itssides, or Wings, which are tapered from their lower to their upper ends,weighted or ballasted balancing spheres on which said boards aremounted, and towing chains or warps attached to said boards and spheres,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JAMES W. PEARSON. Witnesses:

DAVID YOUNG, JOHN T. KNowLEs.

